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Day: February 7, 2011

Torture, imprisonment, repression of dissent, murder, disappearances—as the Egyptian regime teeters, dissidents and bloggers look back on three decades of abuses.

Pundits and politicians shout “Better the devil you know!” as Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak’s regime nears collapse. Mubarak is hailed for not waging war on Israel, allowing some space for civil society, and permitting multi-candidate presidential elections. So why encourage his departure and risk the ascent of a theocratic, fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, which could be far worse?

The Egyptian dissidents and bloggers I’ve spoken to have little patience for this worldview. They have been tortured and imprisoned under Mubarak and refuse to accept that they must choose one brutal tyrant over another. They hold out the hope that they too can live in a normal country. After three decades of Mubarak, Egyptian dissidents feel it necessary to remind the world of his true legacy on human rights and democracy.

“Mubarak did not know the meaning of humanity,” said Bassem Samir, a democracy activist imprisoned under the dictator. “He did not know that they have rights. He worked for 30 years to ensure that Egyptians fear democracy. He weakened the opposition, and anyone who didn’t agree with him was out, out of everything—the media, work, and even the country. Whenever Mubarak thought someone else could be liked by the people, he removed them totally.” More…

Sarah Palin and daughter Bristol failed in a bid to get their names trademarked because they forgot to sign the applications, according to an ABC News report.

Frum Forum claims, “The Palins wanted to protect their names for “educational and entertainment services, namely, providing motivational-speaking services in the field of life choices,” according to rejected app, filed on Nov. 5.”